A microflock owner informed me several weeks ago that she stopped selling and giving away her hens’ eggs. “People were getting sick,” she explained. “Our eggs didn’t provide them with the immunity they get from store eggs.” I did my best to conceal my reaction, but her explanation astonished me. While I’m well aware that farm eggs can become contaminated with Salmonella, I’d never heard that store-bought eggs provide immunity against the illness. So I sought expert sources about the safety of farm-fresh eggs vs. those bought in a supermarket with regard to Salmonella (pictured above). Here’s what I learned.

Keep your coop clean. Poultry droppings can contain live Salmonella, and the germs can contaminate any place the chickens frequent, including nestboxes. Clean eggs can become contaminated with Salmonella when they contact poultry droppings.

Collect eggs frequently. The longer an egg sits in a nestbox, the greater the possibility that it can become dirty.

Do not wash your eggs. Remove any dirt or residue with a cloth or ultra-fine sandpaper. Washing with cold water can result in bacteria passing through the shell’s pores and into the egg.

Are Store-Bought Eggs Safer?

The notion of egg-granted immunity was quickly clarified for me by Dr. Richard “Mick” Fulton, a diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians with 30 years’ experience in poultry pathology and medicine. Store-bought eggs don’t provide immunity to those who eat them, Fulton explained, but they are considered safer to eat than farm eggs.

“All commercial egg production is monitored for Salmonella entertitidis,” he noted. “Farms with more than 3,000 hens are required [by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to participate in the program. The eggs produced by commercial egg farms are candled to see what is inside of the egg, washed and sanitized prior to being put in egg cartons. The eggs are never touched by human hands.”

So if there is something bad inside of an egg, that egg doesn’t get sold in stores, Fulton said. The same is not true for farm eggs.

“These individuals should only eat thoroughly cooked eggs with a temperature of 165 degrees,” said Fulton.

When dining out, check restaurant menu for notations about which items contain raw or undercooked eggs, as these may contain Salmonella. Finally, always wash your hands after handling eggs—and inform your farm-egg customers to do the same.

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Ana Hotaling and her husband, Jae, own FMA Farms, a heritage-poultry farm in Southeast Michigan. When not writing or chasing after chickens and children, Ana teaches martial arts and yoga and is a competitive triathlete and runner. Follow Ana's poultry adventures at www.facebook.com/FMAFarms.FOLLOWMORE ARTICLES